Lana Del Rey Enchants the Plains of Abraham at Festival D’été de Québec: Recap & Photos
The post Lana Del Rey Enchants the Plains of Abraham at Festival D’été de Québec: Recap & Photos appeared first on Consequence.
Festival D’été de Québec returned for its 55th year on July 6th, kicking off one of its biggest editions to date. The first weekend saw headliners such as Foo Fighters, Weezer, and Billy Talent, who rocked the Plains of Abraham, a historic battlefield with a capacity of over 100,000 festival goers. Over the course of the 11-day event, everyone from Zach Bryan to Lil Durk to Jessie Reyez to Lamb of God performed at the historic event.
Beyond the lineup, FEQ stands above other Canadian festivals of the same capacity when it comes to accessibility thanks to easy walkability from different stages, as well as access to and from the city. It’s situated amongst various parks and greenery, creating a perfect balance of modern stage design and outdoors beauty. Located near Old Quebec, FEQ is also uniquely placed around various monuments and institutions where arts, culture, history and music clash. The colorful signage guiding visitors and the art installations setup throughout the city added to the event’s liveliness, making it seem as though the city’s entire population was the festival’s demographic.
The addition of up and coming local talent on the main stages and a “discovery” stage showcasing new artist throughout the festival reinforced FEQ’s love for its hometown. And its hometown consistently returned that adoration throughout the festival; if there’s one thing to note about Québécois people (aside from the unique and sometimes hilarious dialect), is our collective love for music.
Which only made it that much harder when, as weekend two of FEQ approached, extreme weather forced cancellations on Thursday night. Despite the missed performances, anticipation only built for the jam-packed bill set to close out the event. The Smile, Green Day, The War on Drugs, Pitbull, and yes, Lana Del Rey were all scheduled to perform over the final three nights of the Quebec fest.
But first, Montreal-based singer Isabella Lovestory kicked things off Friday on the main stage on the Plains of Abraham, with the crowd already filling in ahead of Pitbull’s closing set. This ultimately led to festival staff closing off the site, as the stage reached its full capacity for the night well ahead of the top-billed acts; who knew Pitbull had such a huge fanbase in Québec?
Meanwhile, the rock show thrived over at the Parc de La Francophonie, with an eclectic bill including TEKE::TEKE, Alvvays (who recently earned a spot on the shortlist for the Polaris Music Prize), and The Smile. TEKE::TEKE showed off tracks from their stellar new album, Hagata, while Alvvays closed out the SiriusXM stage with a set highlighting one of last year’s best releases, Blue Rev.
The Smile made a stop at the festival during their North American tour (get tickets here) supporting of their critically acclaimed debut album, A Light for Attracting Attention. As great as the record is, their FEQ show proved it’s meant to be heard live — even if you had to gather outside the festival grounds and watch on the screen monitors, as many fans did. The band — comprised of Radiohead’s Thom Yorke and Jonny Greenwood alongside Sons of Kemet drummer Tom Skinner — played what felt like a continuously flowing set, alternating between between their calm and exuberant tracks in one fluid motion.
Even with such talent on the bill, Lana Del Rey’s headlining Saturday set was arguably the most anticipated of the week; not only was it her first-ever show in Quebec City, but her first North American concert in four years. While LDR has a brief run of festivals across the US this summer, FEQ marked her only Canadian date, which understandably brought out many festival goers from Montreal and neighboring cities.
Of course, Del Rey let her hungry fans stew in their anticipation as she came out fashionably late, something she’s made a habit of during recent shows. After the additional 20-minute wait, an iridescent sign reading “God bless you” in French appeared on the screen, and there was an immediate shift in energy, a sense of warmth radiating through the crowd as Del Rey’s enigmatic presence took the stage.
She opened with a shortened rendition of “A&W,” the second single off of her most recent release, Did you know that there’s a tunnel under Ocean Blvd, and one of the best songs of the year so far. She continued with “Young and Beautiful,” transporting the crowd back to 2013 with her The Great Gatsby contribution. Her Born to Die era hairdo and glamorous stage set up made for a nostalgic performance, reminiscent of her early tours, even as she touched on each point in her career.
Despite her latest works mostly featuring heartfelt ballads that highlight her songwriting, Del Rey refused to tone down the theatrics. Given its cinematic nature, the set felt more like a play divided in acts – tied together by her backup singers, band, dancers, and touching music video montages — which goes to explain why her setlist hasn’t changed much between recent gigs. She began to warm up to the crowd by the second act, singing “Candy Necklaces” (one of the few Ocean Blvd tracks to appear) while sat on top of a piano, refusing to hold back from her emotions. She even reworked some fan favorites such as “Diet Mountain Dew,” singing a jazz-influenced rendition, and brought out the iconic swing before closing the night with “Video Games.”
Her set served as a reminder of her influence over the years and why so many love and resonate with her music. She reciprocated the love by continuously thanking the crowd for making her “feel at home,” despite her never having visited this city. Watching Lana Del Rey perform on a historic Quebec City battlefield on a hot summer night in mid-July is a special experience, magical in both its location and the performer’s particular artistry. It’s safe to say that LDR left a lasting impression on FEQ.
The Smile, photo by Sun Noor
The Smile, photo by Sun Noor
The Smile, photo by Sun Noor
The Smile, photo by Sun Noor
The Smile, photo by Sun Noor
Alvvays, photo by Sun Noor
TEKE::TEKE, photo by Sun Noor
TEKE::TEKE, photo by Sun Noor
Isabella Lovestory, photo by Sun Noor
Isabella Lovestory, photo by Sun Noor
Lana Del Rey Enchants the Plains of Abraham at Festival D’été de Québec: Recap & Photos
Sun Noor
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